Dr Bruce Manners
Senior minister
Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church
First a confession: I’ve watched MasterChef.
I’ve never had much of an interest. Still don’t, but we had family staying and they’re big fans.
I saw the episode where—shock—Marion Grasby lost. Apparently, she’d become the one to beat. Apparently, her satay sauce tasted great, but it didn’t look as appealing as the other competitor’s.
As a non-viewer introduced to the players only this past week, Marion’s loss didn’t mean much to me. It did to those staying with us. Even the other contestants thought so.
Marion is obviously a loser, or is she?
We all lose some time, at something. Does that make us a loser?
There’s a difference between losing at something and being a loser. We will have losses—that’s a part of life. Being a loser is an attitude that not only expects to lose, but lives as if your life calling is to be a failure.
Marion will never be master chef, she’s lost her chance. But she’s well on her way to achieving her goals. She’s already announced her own line of gourmet products—including her satay sauce. She’s rumoured to become “a face” of Coles supermarkets. And she’s already signed to be the first contestant to have a column in the new MasterChef Magazine.
Marion’s agent, Lisa Sullivan, says her phone has “rung off the hook” with offers. “There have been so many enquiries, for publishing deals to appearances for Marion,” she told Richard Clune of The Sunday Telegraph (“Marion Grasby tipped to be MasterChef millionaire,” July 10, 2010). “Her future is bright.”
“I get shocked at these sorts of things,” says Marion in the same article. “I feel I’ve been working really hard for not much reward since I quit journalism two years ago. It’s amazing.”
She’s no loser. Taking a loss doesn’t make you a loser.
Tags: Bruce Manners